


Reversal Pending

by gottalovev



Category: Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Bodyswap, First Time, M/M, Magic, Oblivious, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-06
Updated: 2012-11-06
Packaged: 2017-11-18 02:25:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/555842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gottalovev/pseuds/gottalovev
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mid battle, Tony is hit by a spell and finds himself suddenly in Loki’s body, courtesy of the sorcerer who had started the day fighting alongside the god of mischief but turned on him. It’s confusing for everyone, really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reversal Pending

**Author's Note:**

> Fic made for [marvel_bang](http://marvel-bang.livejournal.com), and illustrated by the extremely talented [LadyAmarra](http://ladyamarra.livejournal.com). Please go see the art post [here](http://ladyamarra.livejournal.com/257987.html) and tell her how wonderful it is :)
> 
> As a FYI, the fic depicts perceived sexual harassment (Loki teasing Steve while in Tony’s body), but the possible harassment situation is solely Tony's interpretation.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, Русский translation by Answeraquestion : [Обмену и возврату подлежит](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4255011) (thank you!)

A SHIELD minion hands Tony a tablet for the briefing when he enters the conference room, which isn't unusual. It's a new model and even though he could do better – obviously – the new tech is enough to pique Tony's interest. There is no overt connecting port, which means they must be updated wirelessly and are probably encrypted to the gills. Tony's always liked a challenge, but before he can make any headway into the system Coulson enters and starts the meeting about whatever foe they will have to vanquish next. 

The relevant intel appears on the tablets as Phil speaks and Tony turns his attention to the files instead. Blah blah, reports, a whole lot of nothing, he knew that one, dammit is that magic? He hates magic. The first scan through points to Loki even before the name is mentioned in the 18th file, and Tony feels a headache coming on. Beside him, Cap grunts as he swipes at his tablet: he has probably seen the same. Tony wonders if Steve can read as fast as he does, but what’s for sure is that he can scan documents and pick up names and patterns fast; he's good.

"How reliable is this info?" Steve asks.

"Very," Natasha says and yeah, Tony sees her paw prints all over the reports. Clint is not reading either; he already knew about this.

"A heads up would have been nice," Tony tells him. 

Clint smirks, obviously proud that he's gotten special treatment again, and Tony decides he will withhold the new arrows in retaliation. Especially since the man has the gall to shrug.

Thor is frowning, having visibly reached the section concerning his brother.

"I have never head of this Eled person. Are you sure my brother associates with him?"

"Yes," Coulson says, and everyone knows he never jokes about Loki. Not that anyone else does.

Tony's cross-referencing a couple of things when Bruce speaks up. "I have a bad feeling about this."

The last file available is a video, and yeah, it looks like someone's doing impossible things. Again. Tony had hoped the magic angle was just rumor.

"Dammit, not magic again." Bruce all but deflates as he watches it too.

"I hear you, man." Tony extends his fist to him. "May science prevail."

With a sigh, Bruce bumps his fist back. 

***

Unfortunately – but unsurprisingly – the intel is accurate. The magic part is true as well, or else Eled is putting up a very fancy light show that makes streetlights suddenly sprout legs and run away. Loki is there, too, busy with his own brand of crazy, which mostly consists of blasting his staff for maximal damage in between baiting Thor (what else is new?). And since it wouldn't be fun without more weirdness, there are giant cockroach-like creatures happily munching on everything in their path, steadily heading toward midtown. Tony doesn't want those things on his building, no sir.

Tony is hovering to scan the area while JARVIS determines if there's a pattern to the roaches' advance when Clint pipes up.

"Do you think the ugly fuckers can fly, Iron Man? Imagine that!"

"I'm not speaking to you just yet," Tony replies. "If you know stuff, you tell me stuff and I give you stuff. I thought we'd built a great system, Hawkeye, and you failed me."

"Maybe what I could get from Black Widow for keeping my mouth shut was worth it."

Is that reference to wild monkey sex? Tony used to think so, but he's not so sure their two super spies are together. He's ready to concede the point that it could be worth it to keep silent for that, though. "Ah, well, if you say so. Too bad, though, the new explosive arrows seemed promising."

Clint whines. "Ah man, really?" 

"Life's unfair, isn't it?" Tony says, knowing he's twisting the knife. Clint will think about not being a bro, next time.

"Guys, repeat after me: the communication channel is not for idle chatter." Ooops, that's Steve and he sounds exasperated. Again.

"You were kept in the dark too, Cap," Tony argues. "Wouldn't you have wanted a heads up?"

"Cut. The. Chatter." And that, it seems, is that. Tony sighs. He's totally right, though, and he _knows_ Steve would have appreciated knowing about a new possible problem as soon as possible.

The cockroaches' scan doesn't give much conclusive data, but in the middle of mayhem it's now obvious that the villainous alliance of the day has water in the gas. Tony notices that Loki and Eled are arguing, and more and more violently at that. How they communicate is somewhat magical – and encrypted since what JARVIS can record is distorted gibberish – so it's hard to know exactly what is going on.

"We should just let them go at it," Black Widow muses, always sensible.

Because yes, at the moment Loki and Eled are busier fighting each other than coordinating their attack. It brings back memories of the Avengers' rocky start and Tony almost has a pang of nostalgia.

They might not have much information on Eled's full powers, but they must be considerable because Loki is stepping back under his assault; as minutes pass, it's clear Eled has the upper hand. It's not surprising that Thor, who was sending thunderbolts and his hammer at the two villains earlier, suddenly flies up to fight alongside his brother.

The power build up around Eled is tangible enough that it's created a measureable disturbance in air pressure, and Tony is afraid that Thor is going to be hit too hard by whatever spell is coming, as godly as he is. Tony gets yelled at every time he does something like this, but it's just instinctive to fly as fast as he can and throw himself at Thor, trying to get him out of harm's way. The shock is brutal, and Thor - who didn't expect it - falls off the building they're fighting on to safety. He'll be fine - he'll even be back after he starts flying himself - but he's not directly in Eled's path anymore.

Unfortunately, even with all of his thrusters set to maximum, Tony doesn't have time to fly out of the blast radius when the sorcerer unleashes his spell. He feels it hit and the moment stretches; as everything turns a bright purple there's a feeling like he's being dragged out of his skin while at the same time taking a punch to the gut. Tony blinks his eyes open, disoriented, only to see the suit barreling down towards him. The cognitive dissonance is so strong that Tony stands stock still, gaping, as feeble stutters of the thrusters fortunately cushion the force of the landing, a mere 15 yards away. The roof of the building shakes on impact and Tony wonders why it doesn't hurt.

Thor is back, flying with Mjolnir but more surprisingly with Cap hanging to his side; he yells at Tony: "Behind you!"

Instinctively, Tony turns, palms out towards Eled but instead of the familiar sight of his arms and gauntlets and the light of a repulsor blast, he sees hands, naked hands, slender and pale. What the ever-loving fuck? Thor focuses thunderbolts towards Eled, who vanishes, probably to go recharge his magic batteries.

Cap sounds frayed at the edges when he shouts. "Iron Man! Status report!"

"I'm okay," Tony answers automatically, but Cap is running towards the armor now that Thor has let him jump onto the roof.

Since Tony is the closest to the suit, he advances towards it, too, but it's like an out of body experience; what the HELL is going on? 

Steve looks up at Tony and almost snarls. "Get away from him!"

And... what? Steve looks pissed and Tony raises his hands in a placating gesture. "Chill, Cap," he says, before he's forcefully distracted by those hands again. Black and green leather on his arms and, as Tony looks down, he realizes that he's in Loki's armor, and how is that for a mind fuck?

"Tony, can you hear me? Are you okay?" Cap is saying, hands hovering over the suit anxiously.

"I'm fine, but –" Tony's starting to worry that he knows what just happened, as impossible as it seems.

"Were you hurt, brother?" Thor asks him, his own worried frown in place, and it makes Tony groan because that's one more clue that life just threw him a creative curve ball.

"I'm not hurt, but –" he starts to say, gesturing towards the armor and it makes Cap snarl at him.

"Step away. Slowly," Cap orders, voice cold. 

Tony hears the roar of the Hulk approaching and this day officially sucks. He raises his hands. "You don't get it, it's me!"

The suit suddenly starts thrashing on the roof: Steve is almost brained, but he grins nonetheless. 

"Calm down, Tony, don't move!"

The faceplate opens and yeah, as Tony feared it's his handsome face in there, though he's got a mean scowl going on.

"I demand that this machine get off me immediately!" Loki says – it has to be him, as Tony's consciousness is hitching a ride with the god of mischief's right now – and Tony watches in horror as he tries to rip the armor to pieces.

"Stop that, oh my God!" Tony exclaims. "JARVIS! Override Foxtrot-Uniform-Zero-Zero-Whiskey-Tango-Hotel-Five-Eight-Two!"

That makes both Cap and Thor look at him in surprise. Loki hisses in his direction – oh wow, that is so strange, that's his face! - "Let me out, now!"

JARVIS speaks over the armor's speaker system. "Voice analysis does not recognize the source of the override code. Command denied."

Oh, geez, that’s right. Only Captain America, Pepper and himself have the ability to shut down the armor, even with the right code. Tony curses his own paranoia for a minute, though it's not unsolvable.

"What is going on?" Cap asks, back to looking pissed off.

"We're swapped. Bodies I mean," Tony says, gesturing between himself and Loki, who instead of flopping around like a big metallic fish is now sitting up, about to get to his feet. He's looking at the armor with new interest, flexing the fingers and that is so bad. "Hey, hey, Loki!" Tony shouts, trying to distract him. "Repeat the code after me, and you'll be able to get out of the armor, how's that?"

"I am not so sure I want out anymore," Loki, a calculating look on his – but not his! – face.

"What do you mean you're swapped?" Cap asks, though he's stepping away from the armor, a puzzled expression on his handsome face.

"Just that!" Tony gestures to his new – and hopefully temporary – body, and taps on his head. Or the side of the stupid horned helmet, as it happens. "This is me, Tony Stark, in this head, and Loki's high-jacking my body over there!" he adds, pointing.

Loki is unfortunately getting up, and Tony's afraid he's going to try to get away with the armor any second now. 

"Brother?" Thor asks Loki in the armor and no one can miss the little sneer before the faceplate shuts down.

"Shit, he's gonna take my armor, stop him!" Tony yells, starting to run towards it; if the only thing he can do is to hang on to it for dear life for as long as he can, he'll do that.

"JARVIS! Override Charlie-Alpha-Seven-Zero-Whiskey-Tango-Hotel-Zero-Four-Two," Cap says and Tony almost weeps with joy when the thrusters that had just started to fire up die immediately and the armor straightens up before becoming immobile at parade rest.

"What –" The suit's voice says. "Undo this immediately! Obey me, your maker, and not Captain America!"

That won't work, though, because the only person who's able to annul the override code now is Cap. They both know that.

"Oh thank God," Tony says, and he's close enough to grip the armor's arm. "You're not going anywhere without daddy, sweetheart. And I'm not talking to you, Loki."

"Tony?" Steve asks in his direction and that's such a relief that he feels the smile break out on his face.

"Yes, it’s me in here. Thanks for the save, who knows what he would have done with my suit!"

"I want out of this metal prison right now!" Loki says through the suit's system. 

"The person inside the suit is currently struggling and his blood pressure is rising to an alarming degree," JARVIS adds.

"You remember the armor's dismantling code, right?" Tony asks Cap. "I really don't care if Loki has a panic attack, but it's my still my body we're talking about."

"I'll do it in a second. Are you okay?" Steve asks.

That's a very valid question. "Yes, I think so. Weirded out, but I'm fine."

Thor seems to have accepted that there has been a swap, though his efforts at calming Loki are unsuccessful. Steve waves him away, and Tony steps back, too.

"Okay, here we go. JARVIS: dismantling code Sierra-Romeo-Uniform-Seven-Four-Yankee-Five-Golf-India-Three," Cap recites.

Immediately the joints on the armor unlock. Loki’s struggling and it doesn't take long before he's thrown most of it to the ground, helmet included. Once free, he backs up into a fighting stance.

"Hey, watch out!" Tony says, picking the helmet up. "JARVIS, I hope you recorded everything."

"The identity confirmation protocol needs to be performed before I interact with you more fully. Sir." JARVIS does sound apologetic about it, at least.

"Okay, okay, fair enough," Tony grumbles as he watches how Thor and Steve are cornering Loki-in-his-body, clearly wanting to take control while not physically harming him. It's almost sweet. Loki, on the other hand, fights viciously, but in the end he's no match. Tony could have told him to not even bother, really.

***

It's not that Tony doesn’t understand why he has been taken to a SHIELD interrogation room, but he's annoyed anyway. There is nothing he can _do_ here, especially since they took the helmet – and JARVIS – away from him. It doesn’t stop Coulson from asking questions he has no answers to.

"I have no idea, I told you that already a million times! The spell hit, everything went purple and when I opened my eyes I was in this body!" Tony gestures to said body for emphasis. "There was no explanation and definitely no instruction manual to reverse it, though Loki - you know, the Norse God currently residing in my _body_? - might know a whole lot more about magic and this spell in particular."

"He's not talking," Coulson says. "Contrary to you," he adds, looking chagrined, which is a familiar expression on the man whenever they have to spend time together. It has been five hours since Tony was brought in; he had no idea Coulson could last that long in his presence.

"Hey!" Tony straightens, suddenly struck by a thought. "Why are you the one interrogating me in this form? This guy killed you, or close enough. Aren't you a bit too involved for this?"

Coulson tilts his head. "It was this or else I'd have to deal with Loki sporting your face." There is the meaningful raise of one eyebrow.

Tony ponders it for a second. Right. "Good call. By the way, is there any way I could get different clothes? This armor might look bitching, but it isn't comfortable at all."

***

After the debriefing/interrogation comes the sad, sad quarters he gets locked in. A bed – oh God, a twin bed, Tony's hasn't slept in a real twin bed since boarding school - a desk with a pathetically cheap chair, a minuscule restroom to the side, no window, and one camera observing everything from the corner. Tony has to admit that if he had anything to say, the prospect of being detained here could make him crack. He flops down on the bed, though there's a moment of disorientation when the fall takes a fraction of a second longer than usual. Tall fucker. 

He's still holding the clothes a baby agent gave him earlier, and changing is one thing Tony can do. It isn't a SHIELD cat suit, thank god, but jeans, boxers and a plain navy t-shirt. Getting the Asgardian's armor off is kind of tricky (the latch for the side of the chest piece evades him for a while, there), but Tony feels a lot better when he's free of it. The darn thing must weight at least 25 pounds, though Tony can't be sure. Curious, he lifts the chair, which weights nothing at all, then the desk and he whistles. He'll have to experiment when he's cleared to go home, but Loki definitely has enhanced strength, which is not surprising. Tony is pretty sure he sees further and hears better, too. Perks of being a god, he supposes. On the other hand, he has absolutely no idea how to do anything magical and has no memories that are not his own. He's hoping the blockage goes in reverse, too, because it would be a drag if a villain got everything that's in his head.

Before he gets dressed, Tony takes a quick shower and he can't help examining his current body. Loki has long legs and arms, with lean muscles. His skin is pale, almost translucent, in a way Tony's never becomes even when he stays in his workshop and away from the sun for weeks. He's got next to no body hair, except wiry curls at his groin, and a nice enough cock that Tony decides is off limits for now. He's proud of his restraint and decency, really. Looking down to an unmarked chest is a mixed bag of emotions that Tony decides he doesn't want to analyze, and it's still weird to look at a mirror and see that face looking back at him so he avoids that too. 

It's probably the middle of the night, and even though Tony feels too wired to get any rest he decides to lie down. It's not like he has anything else to do, as they didn't allow him his phone back or even a SHIELD tablet. He's surprised when feels himself begin to drift off almost immediately.

***

He wakes up still in Loki's body, so there goes the hope that the situation would be temporary (or just a weird dream). Tony's just finished dressing in the regular, non-Asgardian clothes he was given when there's a knock at the door and a very welcome face pops in when it opens.

"Hey, hi," Bruce says with the crooked smile Tony loves.

"Bruce!" Tony all but bounces to him. "I'm so, so glad to see your face! Did you find a way to reverse this yet?"

Okay, it's maybe bad form to put pressure on the guy, but it's _Bruce_ , he can do miracles.

Bruce shakes his head. "No, sorry, not yet. Wow, they told me it was weird, but... No offence of course."

"Weird it is." Tony waves the non-insult away. "Please tell me that I can leave this room."

"We're going to have a little escort party, in case you guys switch back up unexpectedly, but yes. We have a team meeting."

Said team meeting is held in the observation deck just off the interrogation room Tony was held in the day before. Thankfully, the guards stay in the corridor and Tony salutes them when he enters the room, which makes them visibly nervous. God, he wishes he had time to play at being Loki a little, it could be hilarious – though potentially dangerous. Steve and Thor smile when Tony comes in, but Clint is stoned-faced and eyes him warily, which is to be expected.

"Hey guys," Tony says with a wave, but he immediately zeroes in on the coffee and donuts on the table. He might do a good impression of a locust after that, and scalds his tongue when gulping sweet, sweet coffee. It doesn't taste quite right, really bland and bitter in fact, but it's better than nothing. When he looks back up, even Clint is smirking, which is improvement. "What? No one fed me!"

Which makes him think... Tony walks to the one-way mirror between them and the interrogation room and yes, there is Loki, still in his body, sitting mostly straight in his chair but with a hand over his face, rubbing at his temples. He looks pissed, a bit clammy, and is clearly not listening to Natasha who is in the room with him.

Tony knows how much of a bitch the caffeine withdrawal headaches are, and belatedly marvels at how he doesn't have one himself. It's a definite point for godliness, because there are practically no aches in this body.

"He didn't speak at all yesterday, either." Steve crosses his arms over his chest: it puts all kinds of muscles on display and Tony might zone out a little. "On the other hand, it made it easy to convince Fury it wasn't you." 

"Ha ha ha," Tony says, averting his eyes from how Steve stretches his t-shirt in all the right ways to looks back at his poor body, on the other side of the glass. Also hot, in its own way, if he can say so himself. "Coulson made a similar joke last night, you guys aren't as funny as you think. Is letting Loki suffer a strategy? Because I have conflicted feelings on the subject, since it's my body and all."

Thor suddenly looms, even though it's less effective than usual. Cool, he's almost as tall as Thor now. "My brother is in pain?" 

Cap is frowning and Bruce turns to Clint, who shrugs. "Didn't see any orders spelling that out." He looks utterly unconcerned, which is not cool, but reassuring.

"Why would he be in pain? Do you have a condition we don't know about?" Steve asks, jumping right to the wrong conclusion.

"If it's not in my file, it should be. My blood is 80% coffee – " He avoids saying 'and 20% alcohol', but thinks it anyway. 

"He was given breakfast, right?" Steve asks around, and Clint nods yes.

"I'd bet my Porsche he didn't drink the coffee."

"Dammit." Bruce pours a cup and exits the room only to reappear at the interrogation door, where he quietly confers with Natasha. Tony does hear when Bruce fills her in, which proves his earlier theory about better hearing. Natasha takes the cup while Bruce comes back.

Natasha puts the coffee in front of Loki. "Drink this."

He doesn’t even move. Exasperated, Tony leans on the console and presses the button that will allow him to speak through the speakers. "The headache builds right behind the eyes, first. Has it moved to the front of the head yet?"

Loki snaps his head up upon hearing his voice, though he winces at the sudden movement. Oh, man, it's so surreal to stare at his own face and to know there is someone else in there.

"My body needs caffeine, and it needs it now. Bottom’s up, pal."

"I have never liked this foul concoction," Loki says with a grimace, but he's taking the cup at least. His first sip is tentative but then he makes a pleased face and soon gulps the entire cup.

"Attaboy," Tony says. "Give it a couple of minutes and you should be good as new."

Pleased, he turns the speaker off and steps back. "Okay, now that that’s taken care of, how do we plan to reverse this?"

"A spell is generally undone by either time or more magic, unless there is a condition to fulfill," Thor says.

"A condition?" That sounds ominous enough that Tony is quite justified in feeling wary.

"Yes, as when I had to prove my worth so that I could wield Mjolnir again," Thor explains, fondling his hammer's handle in a distracting way.

"I didn't hear Eled say anything," Tony says. What could be the condition to get out of a body swap? His only references on the matter are movies like 'Like Father Like Son' and 'Freaky Friday', which is useless. Speaking of alarming things, Tony remembers something else he wanted to ask. "I still don't know how to do magic. But could Loki do some while in my body?"

Thor frowns. "That is... possible, I think. He would need to practice to learn your energy, but Loki is a gifted sorcerer." 

"Do you have any idea how long before he’d be able to?" Steve asks, concerned.

"Surely it would not take more than five of your years," Thor says, after thinking for a moment.

It's like the whole room collectively heaves a sigh of relief. Tony can't help but express it out loud. "Thank God!"

"It took Loki a mere two hundred years to attain his level of proficiency with his given body, which is exceptional," Thor says, as if offended that they think five years is a long time and have insulted his brother in the process.

"Five years means we can try to find a solution without having to worry about magic, on his part at least, that's all," Tony says. "It also means we could relocate to the Tower so that Bruce and I, and Loki if he wants to help, could work on this problem properly."

Cap makes a face. "You know we need to keep you both in a secure facility, Tony."

"What could be more secure than a place with JARVIS watching our every move? With the correct security protocols, it would be a lot safer there. and you know it."

***

Convincing Fury that relocating to Avengers Tower is essential is not a piece of cake. It takes _days_. Almost long enough for Tony to die of utter boredom, which he proclaims loudly and at length while lounging on his pathetic twin bed. Steve, who happens to be with him at the moment, is failing to commiserate properly. In fact, he looks mostly amused.

"It's true! With nothing to do, my brain will shrivel like a raisin and what will you guys do when you need a genius, huh?"

Steve smirks. "Call Bruce?"

"Traitor!" Tony glares in his general direction, then pouts, flopping back on his bed with a sigh.

This time Steve laughs. 

"What’s so funny, huh?" Tony asks.

"It's so very... you." 

Tony scoffs. "Are you saying I'm a drama queen?"

Steve laughs some more, throwing his head back, and Tony thinks the boredom might be worth it, just a little bit.

Coulson appears, and immediately Tony perks up. "Can I go home?"

"All the protocols we discussed must be put in place, no exceptions – but yes," Phil says.

Tony fist-pumps. "Hell. Yes!"

Not a minute too soon. Because hacking the SHIELD tablet they had finally given him to shut him up, at least for a couple of hours? Hadn't been much fun, with no porn in the accessible network. Disappointing. And very sad.

***

They bring Loki back with them, too. It's, of course, so he'll be close in case the reverse-switch happens, but Tony doesn't trust Loki as far as he can now throw him (himself ?). As far as he knows, Loki hasn't started talking, though he now drinks his coffee dutifully. Once the security protocols are in place – 24 hour surveillance, monitoring of both Tony’s and Loki’s vital signs seeking a simultaneous spike in brain activity, shut down protocols in case of a suspected switch, constant sweeps for magical activity, and no working on potential national security sensitive projects (which to Tony's despair includes the Iron Man armor) – he's finally left alone to breathe. The cameras here in the Tower are JARVIS, therefore nothing as intrusive as the SHIELD ones felt at headquarters. 

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, sir?" the AI answers, smooth as ever.

"Where will Loki bunk?"

"Second door to the left down the corridor, sir. Shall I inform you of his movements?"

"Yes, for now, at least when I'm up or if something seems out of the ordinary," Tony agrees. He's not sure it's safe, and it’s always possible that Thor could have underestimated Loki's ability to manage magic in his body?

"If it's any comfort, all of the Avengers and Agent Coulson have, individually, asked to be informed too."

It is reassuring to know that his friends feel the need to keep an eye on the situation. Tony thinks he's done exceptionally well on the making friends front since the Avengers started. Hot, awesome, super-gifted friends. It's the best. 

***

Finding how to reverse a curse when you know nothing about magic is a pain in the ass. Bruce and Tony do brain scans, gather data on Asgardian physiology and strengths, might even experiment with light electroshocks – controlled! – and try to document their research on body swapping, but then only manage to prove that the occult world has an alarmingly high proportion of weirdos. As if that's a novel idea.

From being bored at SHIELD, Tony has now become frustrated beyond belief. His body might have metal shrapnel embedded in it and a bunch of aches and pains, but it's _his_ and he wants it back. He's starting to feel withdrawal symptoms from not being able to work on his armor – Bruce can shut up, the symptoms are real – and if they aren't switched back soon, Tony is afraid he might do something rash. What exactly hasn't been defined, but explosions are likely.

"Okay, that's enough," Tony says as he trashes the last batch of inconclusive results. 

He leaves the lab and goes straight to the top floor, where Loki seems to be spending most of his days. The first person he bumps into is Cap, who's on the terrace, doodling while sitting at one of the counters separating the wet bar from the pool., He visibly startles at Tony's arrival. 

"Oh, hey, hi," Steve says, almost looking guilty, as if Captain American can't enjoy a slow day from time to time.

"Loki's here, right?" Tony asks.

Steve is a nice shade of pink, he should watch out for the sun, super soldier or not. He nods. "Yes. Right there, by the pool."

"Thanks."

Loki has parked Tony's body is in a lounge chair near the shallow end of the pool. With shades, a tiny bathing suit, a drink with an umbrella in it, and reading what seems to be a romance novel, he looks pretty content, in fact.

"Working on my tan?" Tony asks. 

"It's not unpleasant," Loki admits. Oh, yeah, he did start talking once they moved to the Tower, but never to say something useful (or anything at all to Thor).

Loki's days seem to consist in eating, sleeping and roasting in the sun. It's like Tony's body is on a vacation while his brain is working overtime trying to fix this. It angers him, suddenly.

"I know I'm fabulous, but aren't you sick of this?"

At last, Loki raises his head and looks at him. "Of course I want the spell to be reversed!" His tone is climbing, too. "I am stuck in the feeble and damaged body of a sub-specie, unable to access magic or do anything at all!"

"Then why don't you come down to help me and Bruce?"

"Because there is nothing we can do!" Loki shouts. "The spell will weaken over time, and at some point, if it doesn't go away first, I will be able to break it."

That is... good. But it means that Loki is waiting to be able to do something magically, and if Thor is to be believed... "Oh, shit." Tony pauses. "We're totally in this for the long haul, aren't we?"

Loki gestures. "Humans live pathetically short lives. In the big scheme of things, it's nothing."

"Tell me it's not five years."

"Who said that?" Loki asks, curious. "Thor?"

"Yes." Tony says. But who else could have? It's a dumb question. "Is it probable? Five years?"

A shrug, and Tony suddenly has empathy for everyone he ever did that to. "It could be. Maybe more." The 'maybe less' is implied strongly enough.

"And until then, what?" Tony likes things to be neatly explained.

"Until then I wish to explore the surprising senses of this corporeal form."

Tony almost preens for a minute before he frowns, puzzled. "What senses? Your hearing and sight are definitely better than mine."

For the first time since the switch, Loki smiles with Tony's face. It's fascinating. "I noticed. But taste, smell and touch? It's like everything is new, not dulled by the centuries. I had forgotten."

Huh. Well yes, if he thinks about it, food is pretty bland unless it's laced with sugar or contains alcohol, which explains so much about Thor. He hadn't noticed the smell or touch part, though.

"Surprisingly tame of you," Tony says.

"What, did you think I would plot all day long, waiting for the day I’m free?"

"Maybe. Or at least that you'd make our lives difficult," Tony admits. He can't believe he's almost inciting Loki to mischief. 

There's a smile again, but this time it's slow spreading, definitely sly, and aimed directly at Steve. "Who says I have not been doing just that?"

Which what? Tony turns and catches Cap ducking his head, definitely shifty now. Oh, _this_ Tony needs to investigate. 

***

Steve looks miserable.

"What's going on?" Tony urges. "What did he do?"

"Nothing!" Steve protests too fast. "He's just joking, nothing serious. I mean... nothing happened or anything."

The statement is in equal part confusing and intriguing. 

"Obviously ' _something_ ' happened." Tony even uses finger quotes, and Steve turns even pinker. It's time to enunciate very, very slowly. "What. Did. Loki. Do?"

"It's not even worth mentioning," Steve tries. "Remarks. Attitude. Acting Loki-ish."

"No, no, no, don't feed me that crap. I want specifics. It's my body, I want to know what he does, dammit!"

That strikes a nerve and Steve visibly pales. "He... touches everything. Always running his fingers on surfaces, as if looking for textures."

Okay, so that fits with what Loki said earlier, but how does it connect with Steve?

"He... sometimes touches his own skin - your skin – too, as if to feel that, too." Aaaaand Steve is back to crimson. 

Tony blinks, too amazed to react for a long minute. Steve fidgets, looking everywhere but at Tony. "Loki's been messing with you by making you watch unwanted peep shows?" 

"No!" Steve squeaks. "He never went there! Oh, God! I would have never... I mean..."

"So it's above the waist touching, then?" Which doesn't sound that scandalous, after all.

Steve nods. "Yes. As I said, nothing happened. But he knows it makes me... uncomfortable, so he's been teasing."

With a sigh, Tony rubs his neck and is once again surprised at the long hair. He should wear it in a ponytail more often: Loki had definitely hated seeing that look on his head. But back to the matter at hand, it's a bummer when you learn that your crush is repelled at the idea of seeing too much of your skin. Without looking back at Steve - he's not sure he’s managed to master Loki's poker face yet - Tony moves towards the elevator and shouts over his shoulder.

"Ask Thor to babysit, then." Tony is pretty sure that Thor would gladly do it. "It will piss Loki off, and in return he'll get off your case."

It isn't true that just because Loki said it, Tony is just going to sit back and wait for things to fix themselves. He remembers that Thor said Eled could maybe reverse the spell, so it's imperative that they find him ASAP. 

***

There's one thing that Tony didn't think through when he plotted to capture Eled: that he would have to watch from the sidelines (in fact, even worse, from a video feed). No Iron Man means he's a liability and SHIELD doesn't want him loose on the streets if there’s a chance he'll switch back to his own body, allowing Loki to escape.

Surveillance cams trigger an alert that Eled has been spotted in Washington – around the Smithsonian of all places – and immediately the Avengers, minus Tony, board the Quinjet. Direct confrontation has proven unpredictable at best, but Loki - who is breaking his non-interference policy since he has a vast interest in talking to the other sorcerer himself – suggested using high frequency sound waves to disturb Eled's focus and then to knock him out by either blunt force or tranquilizer. 

It... doesn't quite happen like that. Natasha almost manages to sneak up on Eled, but he flickers out of existence at the last second and reappears on the roof of the round building next to the Art and Industry Building, which name escapes Tony right now. Hawkeye doesn’t have a clear line of sight from where he’s perched and Thor, as usual, just barges in, hammer held high. Okay, so Tony can't comment because it's a stunt he pulls regularly, and blunt force is pretty much Thor's thing, but in this case? It doesn't work and Eled teleports again. Tony is biting his tongue not to break into the party line and offer a commentary because Cap already sounds exasperated. If he butts in, Tony is afraid Steve will shut him out completely.

"This is ridiculous."

Tony startles because he had completely forgotten that Loki was in the room with him, watching the action on the monitor. He's hovering a couple of feet behind, fists closed tight and almost vibrating with frustration. It's not the best look for Tony; he looks constipated. 

"They’re doing the best they can under the circumstances," Tony says, feeling like he has to defend his friends.

"He’ll release a spell shortly! Can't those incompetents see it?" Loki asks, full of scorn, and Tony belatedly notices that Eled is mouthing some kind of incantation. 

Just as he's about to warn the others, Cap speaks up. "Careful Team, he's cooking something up!"

Tony can't help but smile; it's beautiful to see Captain America in action. 

"You were saying?" Tony asks Loki.

"The good Captain is, sometimes, astute," Loki concedes. 

"Sometimes? He's a strategy machine, the best there is." Everyone knows that.

"And yet, somehow, he manages to be completely blind about evidence he should have decoded long ago." 

Tony frowns, because he has no idea what Loki is referring to. But he forgets to ask because Eled's spell touched a silver hiker statue (or whatever it is, it's not clear from the feed) that is now moving, and apparently it has decided that it would be fun to make a patriotic red white and blue kebab. The animated statue's walking stick is deflected by Cap's shield, but its jerky motions are nothing like human movement, and by blind luck the stick slips underneath the shield and goes right through Steve's thigh. 

Thor thankfully intervenes before the statue can strike again, and a hit from Mjolnir sends it flat on its back, where it does a good impression of an overturned turtle, unable to right itself because of the pack or basket on its back.

"Captain America, status report!" Coulson's voice is less calm than usual.

"I'm hit, it's bad," Steve says and yes, Tony can see the blood, it looks pretty serious.

"We lost Eled," Hawkeye relays, just to make everything worse.

Tony curses and hits his lab bench, which dents under his fist. Behind him, Loki hisses like a cat and stalks out of the room, muttering under his breath.

Thor, still by Cap's side, is trying to stop the blood flow from the thigh wound. Don’t they know there's an artery in there? Tony's pretty sure that super healing can't repair damage that severe as fast as it needs to happen. Thankfully Natasha appears with something that can be used as a tourniquet.

"He needs medical attention," she declares, hands bright red now and Cap, who is fair-skinned on good days, is turning ghost white.

"The helicarrier is seven miles south south-east from your current position," Coulson says.

"M'getting the jet." Clint is zipping down fast from his perch and hits the ground running towards the park where they left the plane. 

"I will bring our friend Steve to it." Thor scoops Steve up, bridal style. Tony would find it funny if he wasn't so worried about Cap. His costume's left leg is soaked with blood, along with some of Thor's cape that was resting in the sizable puddle of it on the floor. 

What if the injury is just too much for the super serum to cope with? The mere idea that Steve could die numbs Tony as if he's been cast in ice - how is that for irony? - and he watches, wide eyed, as Cap is transported towards the jet and then the infirmary. 

***

"Captain Rogers is still under observation," Fury says with the scowl that means he's doing you a real favor in giving you precious seconds of his time. 

Tony won't have it. "That's not an answer and you know it. Is he out of danger? I want to see him."

Fury sighs. "You agreed that -"

"I'm supposed to stay in the Tower, I know, but this is different! It's... it's Steve, my teammate, and I have every right to be there, too." He can't stay here, he has to go, has to see Steve with his own two eyes. Loki's eyes. Whatever. 

"Look, Stark. He's stable but still out of it." Fury pauses for a second and seems to reach a decision. "I'll have Rogers transferred to the Tower under the condition that a medical team moves in, too, for as long as we deem essential."

Okay, okay, that is in fact a very sensible solution. Since he's stable, Fury said, Steve's good enough to move: that's excellent news.

"Deal. Bring him over ASAP."

"Will do. Frankly, your Team is making the medical staff nervous with all of the hovering. It gets old really fast." Somehow, Fury doesn't seem that put off; Tony knows he's tickled pink to see the cohesion they finally managed to build.

***

Tony supposes that it must have been a bit like this, when they first defrosted Steve. He's lying immobile in his bed, flat on his back, regenerating his strength. JARVIS' monitoring everything and told Tony that the brain activity is indicative of someone who can wake up any minute now. Sitting by the bed, Tony wonders if a kiss would wake him, like a modern day Sleeping Beauty (but way more buff and male). The media can say what they want, but Tony's not skeevy enough to try it.

Steve missed a hair cut appointment because there are strands of blond hair long enough to cover his forehead. Tony hesitates, but finally gives in to the more innocent urge to brush the hair back. To his surprise, Steve’s head rolls toward the touch, as if seeking it.

"'Ony?" he slurs.

Tony grins wide. "Right here, Steve."

There's a start of a smile, but when Steve cracks his eyes open – God, how can they be so beautiful? – he suddenly recoils. Tony knows the guy, Steve's hand sweeping the bed is looking for the shield and Tony's one second way from a punch to the face, Cap just waking from a coma or not. Tony understands why and leans back, both hands up.

"Steve, it's me, Tony! I'm stuck in Loki's body, don't you remember?"

It takes a second for it to register but Steve suddenly relaxes on the bed. He looks drained and Tony feels like shit for not realizing he'd be confused when waking up. 

"Oh, yes, right," Steve says, with a little smile. "Guess that wasn't a fever dream, then."

"Unfortunately not." Tony sighs.

"I'm sorry we didn't catch Eled," Steve adds.

"I don't care, I'm just glad you’re okay," Tony says. "It was a long shot, anyway."

"What will you do now?"

Tony sighs again; he can't help it. "I guess we'll wait."

***

As was to be expected, Steve heals way faster than normal and he's soon seen around the Tower, though he limits himself to mild workouts when he goes to the gym. Well... mild for him, of course. It's still impressive to look at (and way sexy). Loki's body is very resistant to fatigue and seems to not need much in exercise to stay fit, but since Tony's shut out from his favorite projects he needs a way to channel his frustration. Unnecessary explosions have been outlawed by Pepper – the balls of fire were awesome, it’s a shame – and all that Tony has left to do is either revolutionize the telecom business or to take his now skinny ass to the gym. 

Loki's enhanced strength is quite fascinating. He’s not as strong as Thor – because who is? – but the amount of weight Tony can now bench press is impressive. He remembers Cap saying Loki packed a wallop when they had arrested him in Stuttgart, and on top of that he’s pretty agile. 

Even though it’s been weeks now since the swap, Clint still doesn’t interact with Tony much, which is a shame. Oh, Tony gets it. Loki is pretty much at the top of Clint’s kill list, but Tony misses their usual banter. But maybe... Why didn’t he think of this before? He pulls out his phone and texts.

 **To Hawkass:** hey, are you in the building?

 **From Hawkass:** yes, why?

 **To Hawkass:** are you interested in therapy?

 **From Hawkass:** ??? what are you talking about, Stark?

 **To Hawkass:** sparring: you, me, Loki’s body. 

**From Hawkass:** you’d get your ass KICKED

 **To Hawkass:** don’t I always, anyway?

 **From Hawkass:** point. I’ll be there in 10. 

Tony grins, proud of himself. He’s got nothing to lose apart from suffering from a couple of bruises (which should help him determine if Loki has accelerated healing) and Clint will get to vent. What could go wrong?

***

Okay, so maybe he underestimated the amount of pain letting Clint pummel Loki’s body would involve. Because their most favorite archer? Doesn’t pull his punches, not one bit. He did at first, but then it’s like he blacked out, losing the control that he usually displays, and just went to town with a snarl on his face, kicks and hits flying. Tony manages not to get too hurt - Loki’s body moves fast and it takes a lot for him to even bruise - but had he been in a regular human body? Clint would have killed him, that’s pretty certain. 

It’s Cap who decides when it’s enough and has to physically intervene when Clint doesn’t listen to his order to stop. Steve catches Clint in a bear hug from behind, blocking his arms.

“That’s enough, Clint!” Steve avoids a head bump and getting his feet stomped on, and he must squeeze because Clint makes a wheezing sound and freezes, back to his senses. “Enough! Calm down now.”

Clint sags. “Okay, okay, sorry.”

Tony stretches and pokes at his side, where it’s tender; nothing seems to be cracked.

“No harm done, or not much. So?” Tony asks Clint, smiling to show him he’s okay with the whole situation. “Felt good?”

Clint laughs for the first time in weeks in his presence. “You have no idea. Thanks, man. I needed that.”

“As long as you don’t go and do that to my body, which I still hope to get back, we’re fine.”

Steve has let Clint go and there’s a welcome loosening in the way Clint holds himself. He smirks at Tony. “Wanna spar tomorrow?”

“I don’t think -” There goes Steve with his concerned face.

Tony rolls his eyes. “Come on, Mom, he’ll behave. Won’t you behave?”

Clint nods, with huge guileless eyes that are supposed, Tony figures, to make him look harmless. It doesn’t really work, but it’s a good effort. “I will, promise.”

“Fine,” Cap says. Tony knows he’s going to happen to be there, just in case. That’s the kind of guy Steve is.

With a smile and a playful hit on Tony’s (borrowed) shoulder, Clint lopes over to the stationary bikes, ready to keep training. 

Tony, on the other hand, has had enough. “Okay, so that’s done. Time to get to work and keep all of you kids with a roof over your heads. Pepper is beside herself at the amount of stuff I’m doing for Stark Industries lately, I’m afraid I’m spoiling her.”

Steve smiles, following him to the showers. “Spoiling her or doing what you’re supposed to be doing?”

“Shush, you. I’ve been getting away with playing hooky for years, and I fully intend to go back to that way of living soon. Don’t spoil my fun.” 

As a general rule, Tony tries to avoid situations where he gets to share a shower room with Steve, in case of inappropriate boners. Loki’s body is less responsive than his own, though, so Tony figures it’s safe enough. But it seems that a couple of covert peeks at water cascading on Steve’s fine form is not today’s immediate torture. 

“Want to take a sauna?” Steve asks, wrapping a towel around his waist after undressing. 

How is Tony supposed to resist? He’s weak, that’s what he is. “Okay, I’ll be right there.” 

First he needs to prepare mentally to face sweat beading and rolling down perfect muscles, and also to remind himself of all the good reasons why he will not pounce on Steve. It takes a couple of minutes.

Just as he’s pulling the door to the sauna open, Steve rushes out, already brick red. They would collide if it wasn’t for Steve’s incredible reflexes.

“I forgot, I have to do something, bye!” he says, and flees like a bat out of hell. 

Tony gapes. What the hell was that? Suspicious, he enters the sauna and yes, Loki is there, sprawled on a bench and covered in sweat. The arc reactor glows softly on his bare chest and it’s so weird to see it from here. Tony finds himself tapping Loki’s sternum from time to time, a habit he can’t seem to shake, and he has to fight the impulse now. By the speed Steve exited the sauna, Tony wouldn’t have been surprised to see him naked, but he’s got swim trunks on and a shit eating grin.

“Joining me, Stark?”

“What did you do to Steve?” Tony asks, annoyed.

Loki shrugs casually. “Nothing at all.”

Obviously a lie: Steve wouldn’t have left like that unprovoked.

“Stop harassing him.”

“There is a difference between propositioning someone and harassing them,” Loki declares, cool as a cucumber – as if he didn’t just drop an A-bomb. 

“What!” Tony feels his voice squeak. “You made a pass at Captain America while in _my_ body?”

The nerve he has! This is disastrous, and Tony wonders how to do damage control. Loki gets up and slinks towards him, exuding such a strong sexual energy that Tony freezes. This is so disconcerting.

“Why not? He’s a gorgeous man, and I’m certain he would make a great bed partner,” Loki all but purrs next to his ear. 

“That’s not the problem! He’s not interested, you’ll freak him out.”

That smirk on Loki’s face? Yeah, Tony is tempted to punch it. 

“You’d be surprised,” Loki says.

"He told me it's bothering him, so stop hounding him, for crying out loud," Tony says. "I don't know how it’s done in Asgard, but here on Earth when someone says 'no', you stop."

Loki scoffs. "You’re telling me Tony Stark never pushes?"

"No, not like that." And it's true, too. Tony easily knows when his flirting is unwelcome, he's got enough experience, thank you very much. Oh, when he was younger he might have pushed more, cocky and sure of his eventual success, but he likes to think that over the years he’s learned a thing or two.

"And what if someone pursues you?" Loki asks, and he runs a finger down Tony's arm, lingering in the crook of his elbow and Tony's pulse jerks, body responding to the touch. Loki knows his body's hot spots, that wasn't a coincidence at all. "Do you not enjoy being seduced?"

It is so very weird to be the focus of the face he's used to see in the mirror, experiencing the touch of familiar hands on a body that isn't wired at all like he's used to. Since he's been in Loki's body, Tony easily ignored the need to jerk off, which he's the first to admit is unusual. There has been very little physical drive for it and frankly he's been too distracted and preoccupied to act out on stray sexy thoughts when not around Steve. Loki, he realizes, might not have had the same restraint.

"You've been fondling my junk a lot, haven't you?" Tony asks, squinting.

Loki smirks. "I am bored out of my mind and this body is always primed to go. So yes."

Tony wonders if he should feel outraged that his body has been molested, but he can't find it in himself. It's not like Loki's been doing any damage; it’s not like he shaved Tony’s goatee, which weirdly would have been worse. Tony never said his priorities weren't a little screwed up.

"You would have jerked off constantly if you'd been in it – me – at thirteen, then." 

"It feels good, very good," Loki says, caressing the pulse point on Tony's wrist and then he closes his fingers tight around it, like a restraint. There's another jolt of pleasure and for the first time in weeks Tony feels his dick starting to stir from physical input. "And I know _exactly_ what to do to blow your mind."

Is it tempting, for a second? Yes it is. 

Tony is in a completely different body than his own, an alien one at that, so it's a guaranteed novelty. He's been around the block more than a few times and the promise of different sensations with someone who'd know how to make the sex good is enough to make him curious. If they fucked, Tony could also apply all of what he knows about his own preferences into unmaking Loki right back. Put Tony in the same weirdo situation but with a total stranger - offered a one night stand, no strings attached, with his body - Tony would probably go for it. But it's Loki, and past the promised orgasms Tony can only see complications. In his _normal_ body he'd probably not touch Loki either: the guy might be good looking, but Tony stopped jumping in bed with people without considering the consequences a while ago.

"I get that you'd like to take my body for a real test drive," Tony says, finally. "Also, maybe you've seen the video footage where I proclaimed that you can count on me to pleasure myself." Loki smirks and yeah, that remains unsettling. His face really can pull off the smug look; Tony will have to work on reining it in when he gets back in his body. Tony steps back and isn't sure how to take it when Loki seems genuinely surprised. "But no, thanks. I might love myself best, but my narcissism doesn't go _that_ far."

Loki sighs and then shakes his head. "You Midgardians are surprisingly uptight."

Tony can't help but laugh and he claps Loki's shoulder amicably.

"Oh, honey. Me, uptight? About sex? Nah. But I do draw a line here and now." Steve's red face comes back to him and Tony adds, "Also, and I hate to repeat myself, leave Steve alone. You are shit out of luck if you think you'll find someone here who’ll agree to fuck you; they don't even want me when I'm me. You know what I mean."

And that's the cold hard truth: Tony's surrounded by extremely sexy people who have no interest in him. And frankly? Apart from the fact that he's crushing hard on Steve, he's perfectly okay with that. He leaves a still frustrated Loki in the sauna, wishing him a good time with his hand, and hopes Cap will be still be able to meet his eyes when he sees him again. Damn Loki.

***

As weird as it is, life goes on. The semi-regular sparring sessions Tony has with Clint (or, really, the beatings he submits to in the name of friendship) do help, and they start bantering again. Tony almost offers to spar with Coulson, too, but he's more terrified of him than he is of Clint, who keeps an eerie control of his strength now that he's got the worst of it out. Steve avoids Loki but sticks pretty close to Tony, so he considers that a definite win. 

Tony agreed with Fury not to work on sensitive parts of his armor – meaning all of it – which was a real mistake, but he can work on improving his friends’ arms and armors, and spends a lot of time in the workshop, with Steve close by. The upside is that he's getting to know Steve better, but all that time together generates a lot of pining too. How perfect can someone be, seriously? It would be annoying if it wasn't Steve. Beautiful, honest, and infuriatingly straight Steve.

As more and more time passes with the situation unchanged, Loki starts, very slowly, interacting with them. Or, more specifically, he starts to seek Tony's company. He doesn't offer sex again, but when Tony allows him in the lab, Loki proves to be curious about technology and holograms. After a while, he starts talking with Bruce, too, mostly about science but more surprisingly about philosophy. Maybe Loki would try talking with the others, too, but Steve magically disappears as soon as he enters a room, Clint is simply never _there_ and Loki has too much instinct for self-preservation to approach Natasha. Thor tries time and time again to interact with his brother, but to his dismay, Loki still keeps him mostly at arm's length. 

Tony wouldn't go as far as saying he's becoming friends with Loki - he doesn't trust him enough to lower his guard - but the guy is smart as a whip and mostly fun to have around. Loki still believes there is nothing they can do to break the spell but wait, though he does now subject himself to the tests Tony and Bruce come up with. Tony is pretty sure it's because Loki's just desperate for something to do more than anything else. They have a test planned today but the machine for the brain wave analysis they've come up with needs a few last minute adjustments. Tony is calibrating a sensor, half his attention on the task and the rest on Steve, who is writing his report on the latest Avengers mission.

"You're saying how much Rhodey kicked ass, right?" Tony asks.

"Of course." Steve looks up to smile at him. "Everyone saw it, anyway. Good call, suggesting that War Machine come with us on that one."

"It was obvious you'd need more air support." It kills Tony that it couldn't be him. 

"Yeah." Steve sighs. "I miss having you around."

It warms Tony thoroughly, for sure. It doesn't lessen the pang every time the Avengers go out to fight without him much, but it means a lot. He'd better enjoy the sentiment while it holds. Tony uses the extra long reach of Loki's fingers to make a connector click.

"You say that now, but Rhodey will make your life easier."

Steve snorts. "Because he actually follows orders?"

"Exactly." Hearing how Rhodey is better at super-heroing than he is stings nonetheless. Tony doesn't dare look at Steve, worried it will show. "It's for the best."

"Hey," Steve says, grabbing Tony's arm. Steve's brows are furrowed; Tony must have let his insecurities slip. "It's only temporary. James is doing us a favor, but he doesn't want a full time spot on the team."

"He's saying that because he's a good pal," Tony says, forcing a smile. "He'll come around, don't worry."

Steve huffs, annoyed. "I appreciate his help, but you need to understand something: as good as he is, you're better. No one flies the suit like you do, and yes, maybe you make my life difficult sometimes, but your instincts are great. I'd trade his cold efficiency for your sharp analysis and special brand of recklessness in a flash."

Tony can't help but to grin at that. "Thanks. I'll keep this on record forever, just so I can bring it out at the most opportune moment."

Steve laughs and Tony loves him, okay? He loves him so much. He can't delude himself that this is only a crush anymore. 

"I wish I could be there for you, I'm going nuts." Tony blurts out.

His declaration sobers Steve up, whose face softens. "I know."

The moment is oddly charged but it splinters apart when Bruce and Loki enter the lab. Steve startles and steps back, letting go of his arm and Tony sees him immediately scoping for an exit route. Too bad Bruce has a different idea.

"Okay, hey, Steve! If you don't mind I need your help over here while Tony goes over the procedure with Loki?" he asks. Steve is way too polite to run after that. He follows Bruce and is soon moving heavy equipment around to prepare a suitably big area for the test.

Tony pokes at his tablet and sees that the calibration is almost finished. Loki looks over his shoulder, nosy as always.

"Dr Banner said you think this machine will tell us more about our situation?"

"Hopefully. At least it will give more insight on our brainwave patterns, and maybe we can see if it's possible to synch them and try to reverse what has been done," Tony explains. 

"It will not work," Loki says and Tony rolls his eyes.

"You could at least try to be encouraging."

"And lie?" Loki asks, tilting his head.

"Isn't it what you do best?" Tony sees how Loki closes up at that and he feels a little bit guilty. "Sorry, reflex. But maybe you could leave me a modicum of hope, if you don't mind?"

Loki steps back, raising his hands. Instead of bothering Tony, he hops on the nearest lab bench and checks out Steve, who's still moving machines and furniture around for Bruce. As far as Tony knows, those two haven't interacted much in the last few weeks, which must be a relief for Steve. The problem is that Loki has been spending a lot of his time in the lab, and with Steve's avoidance strategy this means Tony's seen very little of _him_. He can't help but admire the display of pure strength Steve is offering right now and gets caught doing it.

"Why won’t you tell the Captain how you feel about him?" Loki asks and Tony fumbles and drops his tablet (thankfully on the bench and not on the floor).

"What?" His heart is beating double time and Tony can't believe he's been caught ogling. Well scratch that, most of the Avengers have caught him before, but they dismiss it as a Tony Stark thing, which proves that his reputation can sometimes be useful.

"You want him, most probably love him; why not say so?"

"Shut up!" Tony hisses, hoping Steve's freaky super hearing hasn't caught the conversation. "I don't care what you think you know, we're going to drop the subject right now."

Of course that doesn't stop Loki. "Is it the body swap? Because I told you it could be a long time before we revert."

"Of course being in the wrong body is a problem, but that's nothing compared to the fact that Steve is _not interested_. Please just fuck off," Tony says.

Loki looks heavenwards, aggravated, and look at that, it's another expression that makes Tony want to punch his own face. It's a disturbingly common occurrence.

"Stark, you are being especially dense. Captain Rogers is as smitten with you as you are with him, and I cannot believe you have not realized it yet."

"What?" Okay, who gave drugs to Loki? It's still his body, he wants to know. "Have you been drinking again?"

"I have not, you know I am not a fan of what happens to your weak body once I sober up." That had been one epic hangover, if Tony says so himself. Loki continues: " Your pathetic mutual longing is trying my patience. Why not tell him and get it over with?"

Tony checks across the lab and fortunately Steve is still busy and blissfully ignorant of their conversation. "Look, I don't know why you're pushing on this, but stop right now. I won't tell Steve I like him and risk shattering our friendship when I know he’s into women."

"And men," Loki adds. It's like a EMP bomb and Tony gapes, all systems going blank for a second.

"No way," he says intelligently. Steve's completely straight, isn't he? Come on, he's Captain America.

Loki smirks. "Yes way." It's so annoying when he uses familiar speech. "I shouldn’t give a damn, but the faster you both realize the interest is mutual, the less I will have to witness your cow eyes. Observe closely, and tell me if the Captain is as straight as you think he is."

Before Tony can stop him, Loki is striding towards Steve.

"Here, let me help," he says, getting into Steve's personal space to help him guide the bulky prototype of the machine they'd built two weeks ago out of the way. Steve tenses at first, but relaxes when he sees that Loki's help does indeed make it easier to move the equipment. For Tony it's a point in the 'not interested' column until Loki exchanges a look with Steve and smiles at him, easy as it goes; Steve smiles back. Loki then leans closer and even with his enhanced hearing, Tony can't tell what he says next. One thing is for sure, though: Steve _blushes_. 

There Loki goes again, harassing poor Steve once more. Surprisingly, Steve is not trying to get away. Loki hasn't stopped whispering in his ear, a hand brushing Steve's arm, and his friend sways towards the touch. It's probably involuntary but it's there nonetheless, like the pink on Steve's cheeks and the way he's biting his lower lip. Then Steve turns his head to look at him, eyes full of promises and the air goes out of Tony at the possibility that Loki could be right.

He can't start to freak out about it, though, because in the second that follows it feels like Tony's being hit over the head, hard, and the world stretches and shifts, reorganizing around him. It takes less than the time to blink and he finds himself suddenly across the lab, about to fall on the ground and gripping Steve's sleeve and the prototype machine with all he's got so he doesn’t end up sprawled at Steve's feet. 

"Loki?" Steve says, worried, and Tony's first reaction after asking himself _could it be ?_ is to reach for his arc reactor. How fucked up is it that feeling the darn thing under his shirt is such a comfort? 

Before he can talk alarms are blaring and JARVIS is initiating the security protocols, voice booming through the Tower's intercom.

_Simultaneous spike in brain activity detected. Due to abnormality in vital statistics, switch is probable. Quarantine of subjects in lab three effective immediately._

Tony is now patting himself down, and he turns to where he was standing not a minute ago to see Loki dressed in the jeans and Firefly t-shirt he chose this morning, looking as surprised as he is. 

"Tony?" Steve asks this time, gripping his arm. Tony reaches his own face and... facial hair! He's back!

"Yes!" Tony exclaims. "Oh, thank God!"

This is completely unexpected but totally awesome and he can’t stop grinning. Tony turns to Loki, who looks just as pleased. "What happened?"

Loki is shaking his head. "I have no ide-" he starts, and then stops, eyes widening in sudden realization. "I cannot believe..."

He knows what just happened, that’s clear. "Spill, come on!" Tony urges.

"During the battle, Eled accused me of only thinking about myself, never of others," Loki huffs, annoyed. 

But right now, in talking to him and then to Steve about their possible mutual attraction, Loki was helping out, mostly selflessly. Eled's unknown condition was met and the spell was reversed, just like that. It dawns on Tony that Eled's intention was that Loki be swapped with Thor, which would have made the spell last a whole lot longer. But Tony got in the line of fire, so the spell latched onto him instead.

The alarm is still sounding in the lab as Bruce comes closer.

"Is the switch back to your own bodies permanent?" he asks Loki. Very good question.

"Most likely," Loki says, and he looks at his hands that are starting glow with a soft green light. He seems delighted. "But I will make sure of it."

Ah, shit, magic again. For a second Loki shimmers like a mirage and then he's dressed in his full armor, helmet included. No staff, though. 

"I will ask you to stay where you are and show your hands," Steve says with his Captain America voice. 

Loki laughs. "Or what?"

"Or else you get an arrow in the eye," Hawkeye says as he gets in position on the other side of the lab's glass door, having run down from his floor upon hearing the alarm. JARVIS is nice enough to relay his voice in, and Tony sees that the arrow Clint nicked is one of the new percussion ones, it probably could penetrate the door and get to Loki. Natasha is at SHIELD today, and Thor is visiting Jane; since Steve doesn’t have his shield and Tony can’t access his armor, it bodes pretty badly for them if Loki decides he wants to escape.

"If we're supposed to bind and gag him, I'm not sure the supplies I have are adequate." Tony jokes.

Loki laughs again. "Now you want to play, Stark? It is a tad late for that, isn’t it?"

"Yeah," Tony shrugs, but he can't help to smile back. "You were more my type ten minutes ago. If you please, I'd ask you to take a seat while I call Fury."

"A notice to Director Fury is ready, sir," JARVIS says. He has stopped the alarm, too.

"That's my boy. Send it."

"I will not cause any problems if you take me to SHIELD," Loki says, which is suspicious. 

Clint thinks the same. "He's got something planned."

"He probably wants to get closer to his staff," Cap adds. It makes lots of sense, but Loki's nonchalance doesn't give anything away.

"As long as he's not my problem anymore, I don't care." Tony snaps his fingers. "JARVIS, get through to Thor, he'll want to come back for this." 

"Yes, sir."

The sooner Loki is in SHIELD's custody, the better. Only then will Tony believe he's got his life back. 

***

Fury comes in person, Coulson hot on his heels, and they’re so thankful that they can leave with Loki that Tony is mostly cleared on the spot. He doesn't have to go to SHIELD headquarters at the moment, though he will need to be debriefed – it's scheduled for the following morning – before his house arrest conditions are lifted. As soon as they leave, escorted by Hawkeye and a platoon of agents armed to the gills, Tony fist pumps and does a little shimmy. Finally!

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Bruce asks, smiling at Tony's demonstration of happiness.

"I'm great, never been better!" Okay, so he had forgotten how annoying the twinge in his right knee is, but despite that, everything feels just right. You never know how comfortable your own skin actually is until you spend a couple of months in someone else's.

"Excellent. This calls for cake. Do you want cake?" Bruce asks.

Tony grins. "I'm always up for cake!"

"See you later, then." Bruce leaves, probably to bake a 'congratulations on getting your body back!' cake, and could this day get better? Tony doesn't think so.

Speaking of dessert... Tony brushes a hand on his middle and it's rounder, softer. Not much, but enough to be noticeable. It seems that Loki's regime of lounging around and eating all the time fattened him up. 

"That son of a bitch," Tony curses.

"What’s wrong?" Steve asks immediately, worried. He's been quiet since Loki left.

"Nothing much. I just think Loki made me put on at least ten pounds."

It makes Steve roll his eyes. "Seriously? I thought there was a major issue. You look fine. It's better than the underfed look you tend towards when you work too much."

Tony raises the hem of his t-shirt and checks his reflection in the window, sucking in his stomach and then letting go. It's true that it's not so bad. Satisfied, Tony drops the shirt and he's about to suggest they go help Bruce make the cake – heck, ten pounds or eleven, who will be able to tell? - when he notices Steve is pointedly looking away, ears a little red. Oh, right, he must remember how Loki kept flashing skin to tease him.

"Sorry about that, I'll keep my clothes on," Tony says. "I know Loki's been a dick, doing everything he could to make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry, for what it's worth."

Steve is at least looking towards him again and he shakes his head. "You did nothing wrong. And it wasn't so bad, you know. Loki I mean."

Tony scoffs, amused in spite of everything. "Yeah, right. That's why you've avoided him like the plague for weeks."

"It was necessary. My self-control only goes so far." Steve's got a full on blush, now. He also looks oddly resolute and intent, as if he's expecting something important from Tony. The problem is that Steve can't be saying what Tony hopes he's saying: he must be referring to how much of a pain in the ass Loki was. Tony turns towards the nearest lab bench, determined to find something to fiddle with. There: a new acid spray prototype for Natasha, he can work on that.

"Thanks for not punching him and, consequently, not breaking my face."

After a silence that stretches a good five seconds, Tony startles when Steve is suddenly right at his back. They're not touching, but when Steve speaks softly near his ear, he's so close that his breath tickles the skin of Tony's neck. "I didn't want to punch him."

It's enough to launch a full body shiver, and Tony lets go of the prototype to grab the table in front of him for moral and physical support. 

"I wanted to touch," Steve murmurs.

Fuuuck, what? Tony's stomach somersaults in an exquisite way. It's with a voice that almost croaks that he manages to reply. "What stopped you?"

"As tempting as it was – and, believe me, it was torture - it wasn't enough." Steve pauses half a second. "It wasn't _you_."

"Holy shit," Tony breathes, goose bumps breaking all over his body. Steve wants him, wants him bad. This is a total game changer. "It's me now."

It's the right thing to say because Steve closes the gap between them and is now flush against his back, hands resting lightly on his hips. Tony leans back into him, encouraging this turn of events.

"Can I?" Steve asks, his right thumb slipping below Tony's t-shirt, doing a maddening back and forth against skin, though his hand doesn't move from the hip.

"Please." 

Oh, God, if he was wrecked from a single contact point, that's nothing compared to Steve's broad hand sliding under the t-shirt, slowly covering his stomach. Tony tilts his head to the side and Steve takes the hint, first nosing at the side of his neck, and then kissing a trail from the top of Tony's shoulder to behind his ear. 

The situation is mind-melting hot, really, but there's a slight problem. Positioned like this, boxed against the lab bench, Tony can only take it and moan shamelessly, though he rolls his hips and grinds his ass back to rub against Steve, which produces a satisfying groan in answer. It's not enough, not by a long shot. He needs to touch Steve back and he wants to do it now. He pushes and twists until they’re face to face and immediately Tony reaches up to hook an arm around Steve’s neck to bring him down in a kiss. There's nothing tentative about it: their mouths collide and it's immediately wet, deep and slightly desperate. It's like Steve is determined to unravel him right here and now, his big hands framing Tony's face as they kiss and kiss and kiss. God, _yes_ , Steve has a thigh wedged between Tony's legs, pressing against his hard cock, and if there's humping going on, Tony's pretty sure no one can blame him. In retaliation, Tony slides a hand up under Steve's shirt and reverently maps abs and pecs. Even in his wildest dreams, it wasn't that good, that hot. When he pinches a nipple, Steve keens in the back of his throat and breaks the kiss, panting right against Tony's mouth. 

"Oh, fuck, Tony." Steve's voice is gravelly rough and Tony wants to hear his name said like that every day for the rest of his life. 

Leaving Steve's chest to slide down his side, and down, Tony cups Steve's hard dick and squeezes, shivering in anticipation when Steve bucks into the touch with an inarticulate cry. Goddam, the guy's built _everywhere_. There's nothing left to do but to beg for it, he wants Steve so much. "Please, please, come on!"

"Yes," Steve says, suddenly in a hurry to unbutton Tony's fly. Halfway through he leans away to meet Tony's eyes, intensity turned up to twelve: Steve looks as if he's been starving for this, for them. "I want to fuck you."

Here goes the stomach somersault again. "Jesus Christ!" Tony swears, and he has to kiss Steve again as he gets busy undoing Steve's belt and pants in turn. 

Steve laughs, which doesn't ruin the kiss at all because a laughing Steve is hot, and Tony knows with certainty that he's completely gone, head over heels, and that there is no coming back. "I take it that's a yes?" he teases, yanking Tony's pants and briefs down, which Tony happily kicks away. 

"It's a 'hell yeah, soldier, get in me already!'" Tony says as Steve helps to rid him his shirt, too. 

"That's the plan," Steve says with a ridiculously cheeky grin and it's Tony's turn to laugh, and he almost doesn't fumble as he opens the drawer next to them. 

A quick search produces a bottle that will be a totally acceptable lubricant and he slaps it into Steve's hand. It earns him another brain melting kiss, and now Steve is somehow naked too, which gets Tony's enthusiastic approval. There are miles and miles of soft skin and an abundance of hard muscles; it's glorious. It gets even better when one of Steve's fingers slides in, sure and slick. Okay, so the fantasy of the fumbling virgin might be out, but this confidant Steve who knows exactly what he wants and how to get it? Incredibly, stupidly, lava-level of hot. No complaints here.

It's like Steve can read his mind, taking every cue Tony lets show to give him more when he needs it. He's so high on pleasure already that he's a complete mess, moaning and fucking himself on Steve's hand while bucking up into the fist he’s got closed around his cock. 

"You should see yourself," Steve says, eyes roaming up and down from Tony's face to his dick, closing hard at the base, now, stalling Tony's imminent orgasm. "So hot, I want you so much."

If he could come, he'd be done, but Steve won't let him, not now. "I'm ready, come on! I need you, _please_ ," Tony begs, unashamed.

Steve slides his fingers out and lets go of Tony's cock, but it isn't a tragedy because it's to grab his thighs and haul him up to sit on the lab bench. Tony's not so sure about the logistics, it's a couple of inches too high for Steve to be able to fuck him properly in this position. He shouldn't have worried: he's screwing a master tactician, after all, and Steve sure knows what he wants to do.

"Legs around me," he orders, to which Tony complies happily, leaning in to kiss him. This will never get old. Steve places Tony's arms around his neck. 

"Hang on tight," Steve adds, and Tony's not quite prepared when Steve steps away from the lab bench, keeping him up easily with an arm around his back and the other under his ass. In reflex, Tony holds on tighter.

"Holy shit!" 

There's a minimum of shifting around before Steve's positioning his dick against Tony's ass, and then gravity's doing its thing, as Steve lets Tony slowly slide down, the stretch and fullness almost too much. Tony pants against Steve's neck, throat dry. 

"You feel so, so good," Steve praises, and Tony only wants to be _better_. He starts to rock back and forth slightly, accelerating the downward movement until he's got all of Steve in him and feels as if he's going to be split in two. 

"Fuck you're big," Tony says. Steve tenses a little. "That's a good thing, a very good thing. I just need a minute."

Steve noses at Tony's neck. "Tell me when you're ready."

Tony can't help it, he laughs. "Yeah, no sweat, I'll just casually hold you up like it's nothing."

Looking at him with a grin, Steve winks. "No, really, I can do this all day."

That merits a kiss, a dirty one, because a sassy Steve is awesome. When they part, Tony grins at his turn then _squeezes_ around Steve. "As you please, sir."

It's particularly satisfying to see Steve’s eyes roll back in his head in pleasure. When he gets over that, though, it's on. Really, gloriously on, as Steve changes his grip and starts fucking Tony in earnest, moving him up and down as if it's as easy as breathing. Maybe it is.

There's no way either of them will get to Tony's dick, but that's definitely not a problem. He's so wound up he feels his orgasm build up really fast, and he's soon chanting about how he's going to come, cursing and pleading incessantly. He's hanging onto Steve's shoulders for dear life even if the man is steady like a rock, feet shoulder width apart and fucking up and up, steady and strong. There's no way Tony can hold off anymore so he lets go, letting the pleasure take over as he comes hard and long, untouched. Steve fucks him through it, slowly, making everything _better_. It's only when Tony comes down that Steve's rhythm stutters and he loses it too, his arm closing with impossible strength around Tony's back. They sway, Steve unsteady for a second, but then he's right back in control. 

Tony assumes Steve's going to bring him back to the lab bench, but he walks them to the corner of the lab instead before sitting down on the cot there, Tony now straddling his lap. 

"Oh, hey, look at that, a sort of bed!" Tony exclaims. "But why use that when we can fuck _standing up _!"__

__Steve laughs, his hands roaming up and down Tony's back. "Shut up, you loved it."_ _

__"Of course I did!" Tony says. Hell, that was way hot. "Show off!"_ _

__"Had to impress the great Tony Stark," Steve says, half joking, and here comes the first twinge of insecurity. Honestly, Tony was sure it would come from him._ _

__"No, you didn't," Tony says, serious. "Don't get me wrong, it was very, very impressive and I can't wait to see what you come up with next, but you've got nothing to prove to me. Got that?"_ _

__The way Steve smiles at him then is beautiful._ _

__"Got it. Are we... can we be... is it too soon to –" Steve stutters, flustered a little and so earnest._ _

__"Go steady?" Tony suggests, which makes Steve nods. "Absolutely! No way I'm letting you go after that number, stud," Tony teases._ _

__Steve sighs, playing at being long suffering. "I see how this is going to be. You only want me for my body, how typical."_ _

__Tony kisses the tip of Steve's perfect nose, chucking when his blue eyes cross a little, tracking the movement._ _

__"Nah. My recent adventures taught me that it's what is in here that counts," Tony says, tapping Steve's temple lightly with two fingers. "You're a beautiful person, Steve Rogers. The outside is just the bonus gift wrapping."_ _

__"Wow," Steve says, beaming. "It's like you got wise or something. I'm not sure I have the right guy. Bruce, is that you?"_ _

__Tony rolls his eyes and pushes him down on the cot. "Shut up and fuck me again. Then cake."_ _

__"Then cake, got it," Steve says, pulling him down. "It's a plan."_ _

__

__-fin-_ _

**Author's Note:**

> I want to express my eternal gratitude to [Zelda_Zee](http://zelda-zee.livejournal.com) and [Jaydblu](http://jaydblu.livejournal.com) who worked their Beta magic on this fic. Thank you also to the mods of [marvel_bang](http://marvel-bang.livejournal.com/) for a great challenge ♥
> 
> Once again I need to urge you to go see [LadyAmarra](http://ladyamarra.livejournal.com)'s art post [here](http://ladyamarra.livejournal.com/257987.html), to admire it in all its glory. I was totally blown away by it, please go tell her how wonderful it is :)
> 
>   
>  [](http://ladyamarra.livejournal.com/257987.html)   
>    
> 
> 
> Thank you for reading :)


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